Photo/Illutration Security footage from Aug. 19 shows a man believed to be murder suspect Masashi Tanimoto loitering near the victim’s workplace in Kobe’s Chuo Ward. (Provided by a source)

KOBE–The suspect in the fatal stabbing of a 24-year-old woman here was serving a suspended sentence for another violent attack on a woman, according to investigators.

Masashi Tanimoto's actions suggest the latest attack was premeditated and targeted the victim, the investigators said. 

Tanimoto, 35, who was arrested on suspicion of murdering Megumi Katayama in her apartment building on Aug. 20, told police that he began following her two days earlier after seeing her walking on the street.

According to investigators, Tanimoto said he saw the woman on the morning of Aug. 18 and believed she was his "type," which led him to follow her.

He reportedly saw her enter her workplace and later returned to the area to stalk her again when she left for home.

Police say there was no known prior connection between Tanimoto and Katayama, with the suspect claiming he did not know the victim. Investigators believe Katayama was randomly targeted.

Tanimoto, a delivery driver from Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward, had been staying at a hotel near the crime scene for three days prior to the incident. He was previously a resident of Kobe.

Video footage from the day before the killing shows a man, believed to be Tanimoto, loitering near Katayama’s office building. Around 6 p.m., he is seen pacing with a smartphone in hand, crouching and watching the area over an extended period.

Investigators also discovered similar behavior on earlier surveillance footage near the hotel where Tanimoto was staying.

On the night of Aug. 17, three days before the incident, he was reportedly seen following another young woman into her apartment building, slipping in behind her through the auto-lock security door.

In Katayama’s case, Tanimoto is believed to have bypassed her building’s security system in the same way. He is suspected of attacking her inside the elevator, where she suffered multiple stab wounds to her upper body.

According to police, the suspect admitted to stabbing the victim but said he was not sure if he intended to kill her.

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Authorities confirmed that Tanimoto was on a suspended sentence following a conviction in 2022 for similar offenses in the same area.

Court records show he stalked and assaulted another woman in Kobe’s Chuo Ward, following her into her apartment building multiple times and eventually choking her after she entered her room, causing injuries that took three weeks to heal.

He was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, suspended for five years.

After the stabbing on Aug. 20, Tanimoto allegedly disposed of a blood-stained knife in a nearby parking lot and returned to his hotel. He checked out soon after and boarded a Shinkansen bound for Tokyo from Shin-Kobe Station later that evening.

He was arrested two days later in Okutama, a mountainous area in western Tokyo, about 380 kilometers from the crime scene.

When approached by officers, Tanimoto reportedly refused to give his name and attempted to flee before being apprehended.

(This article was written by Momoe Harano, Kai Nemoto, Eri Niiya and Hiromichi Fujita.)

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